Hobbies

[redpanda]

What hobbies do you guys have? Do any of them help with your anxiety? I thought it would be fun to find out what everyone enjoys . My main hobbies are gardening, hiking, and video games. Gardening can be especially relaxing for me, even though I'm currently limited to container gardening on my balcony. I'm not sure it counts as a hobby but I'm also a big animal lover. My pets (a dog and some reptiles) definitely calm me down and I'm thankful to have them.

 

[Rayne]

I have several hobbies such as crocheting, reading and crafts. However, I find that I can lose myself in gardening. Like you I am limited to container gardening right now but I do find peace and happiness when tending my plants.

 

[Allegro]

My main hobbies are gaming ( when I have the time ) and baking. If I'm stressed, I'll go bake something. There's something incredibly relaxing about the process. I also started to needle felt, which is definitely easier on the waistline. When you're not stabbing your fingers, needle felting is pretty enjoyable!

 

[Jemina]

Baking is a hobby I enjoy as well. I find that if I can go bake something (and probably eat it too....) then I'll feel better afterwards. I also like to make things for people generally so I suppose this goes along with my love of baking. I also love to scrapbook too though. Music is another huge passion of mine. I both listen to music and play music.

 

[lexinonomous]

Now that I'm thinking about it, my hobbies include a lot of anti-social activities. I enjoy playing video games and surprisingly, I won't even play with others virtually. I don't really enjoy playing with other players online. If I am playing on a team (Dota) - I will make sure to mute the players in order to avoid any confrontation. Some of the other activities I enjoy are reading, sleeping, trying new food, and coloring. I am a sucker for the adult coloring books and spend a great deal of time going through each page. It keeps my mind occupied and calms me down during anxiety attacks as well.

 

[rz3300]

Well I love to write, so that takes up a good amount of my time. I try to exercise as often as I can so going to the gym I am more and more starting to actually count as a hobby - which means I am actually regularly going instead of just telling myself that I am. Outside of the work and family seems to ear it all up, and I do value that little time that I have left so I like to spend it doing things that I enjoy doing, which of course we all do. I do also enjoy some crafts and crossword puzzles.

 

[shcoo]

Drawing was my main hobby, but I find that when I am in a poor mental state I judge my own art too harshly and end up frustrated. I rarely finish things.


Instead, less-stressful hobbies have been playing with my dogs, watching/analyzing films, and making music playlists for different moods or events.

 

[hades_leae]

I have several hobbies such as crocheting' date=' reading and crafts. However, I find that I can lose myself in gardening. Like you I am limited to container gardening right now but I do find peace and happiness when tending my plants. [/quote']
What is crocheting? I actually do a lot of reading, but things online like post, and blogs about things I'm interesting in like gaming, future movies and stuff like that. I find many ways to entertain myself, I don't always find it comfortable to be around other people and talk because of my Anxiety, but I keep myself at bay by doing some of the things everyone here is sharing.

 

[Jean Thomas]

My daily hobbies are journaling and listening to music. Weekly I'll color, paint or do a DIY project. Creating something with my hands keeps my anxiety at ease.

 

[MellowCat]

I have a lot of different hobbies, although when I'm severely depressed it can be hard to take interest in them. Thankfully my depression isn't too bad right now, although my anxiety is. Besides spending time with my two amazing kids, I also like to write, garden and bake, and I also spend a fair amount of time playing with my cat and hamsters. My hobbies do help with anxiety, when I have the presence of mind to apply them.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I love to write, but only when I'm in one special mood, it's usually when I'm angry or really sad, it makes me feel way more distracted about it and I feel that I want that feeling by writing, even if the thing that I'm writing doesn't relate to the motivating feeling, does that makes any sense? lol.


I also really like to make up and cutting hair (my own and other people's hair), it's extremely liberating for me and I actually think that I'm kind of good at it, I'm definitely a frustrated cosmetologist.


I'm also a fan of horror, mystery and psychological movies/manga/anime/tv series, they are my favorite thing to watch.

 

[redpanda]

I love to write, but only when I'm in one special mood, it's usually when I'm angry or really sad, it makes me feel way more distracted about it and I feel that I want that feeling by writing, even if the thing that I'm writing doesn't relate to the motivating feeling, does that makes any sense? lol.
I also really like to make up and cutting hair (my own and other people's hair), it's extremely liberating for me and I actually think that I'm kind of good at it, I'm definitely a frustrated cosmetologist.


I'm also a fan of horror, mystery and psychological movies/manga/anime/tv series, they are my favorite thing to watch.

It makes sense to me! Writing can be really relaxing for people. I think part of it is that it requires a good amount of mental energy---energy that might normally go towards feeling anxious. Unfortunately, writing now feels like "work" to me since I'm currently writing full time. It's weird how getting paid for something can make it go from being a hobby to work.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

When ever I feel that I am stress and depress there is nothing I can do but to help myself to keep busy and active. Since I had this passion for cooking this is the activity that I am always doing and that is to cook or either to bake for my family. And sometimes reading, writing and watching educational shows are the activities that interest me when I feel the need to have relaxation of mind.

 

[Robilas]

In the last years I've found a lot of hobbies that help me with my anxiety. First of all, I like working out and runnig, since when I'm exercising I can stop my mind from overthinking. I don't feel nervous or anxious and I can finally focus on a simple, physical task.


I also enjoy playing video games, since playing with total strangers or alone is a great way to blow off some steam and relax at the end of the day.


My last hobby is reading: I read costantly since I can live in a totally different world, even for only a few hours a day, and as long as my mind is focused on something I don't feel anxious or self conscious.

 

[Bea]

I mentioned in another thread but I guess I'll repeat it here, haha. I play slow-paced video games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon since being able to go at my own pace relaxes me. Other video games stress me out because you almost always seem to be under pressure. I read a lot too, it makes me feel like I've been going outside to explore different places even though, in reality, I've been stuck at home for days because of my anxiety and depression. It also gives me something to connect to other people with. Usually I'm very shy but I get enthusiastic about books and I can overcome my social anxiety if I'm talking about stuff I like.


Watching anime and reading manga are also other hobbies of mine!

 

[mariaanca]

Drawing was my main hobby, but I find that when I am in a poor mental state I judge my own art too harshly and end up frustrated. I rarely finish things.

I have the same issue. I recently graduated from an art school and I still feel frustrated when I can't draw something decent. I end up getting mad. But on the other hand somehow taking art classes has helped me by being more calm. So it's kind of a paradox if you know what I'm saying.


I also love gardening but as Redpanda, only in pots at this moment. I found on Pinterest on how to grow kiwi plant from seeds and that is the one project that I'm proud of right now.

 

[ineedmystrength]

I know I've posted this elsewhere, but I could talk about my hobbies all day, so here goes! I'm an equestrian; I love doing dressage and gymkhana games (like barrel racing and pole bending) with my horse. It's very therapeutic to spend time in the saddle and focus on things other than my mind trying to weigh me down. During the winter, I love to go skiing; I don't always like the crowds that come with it, but I do love the adrenaline rush that comes from flying down the mountain. I also enjoy writing (journaling, blogging, story writing, etc.), reading, and listening to music as a way to unwind. And, of course, spending time with all my pets...snuggling with my dog can always make my day better.

 

[samijean]

I have a lot of hobbies that help me with my anxiety, but lately its mostly been reading and coloring. I love reading because its like I can explore new worlds without ever leaving my cozy little reading corner! Coloring helps most when I'm having an anxiety attack since there isn't much to focus on other than picking the colors I want to use. Lately I've also been trying to get back into writing. I'm not the best, but it's always relaxed me and it's pretty satisfying to look down when I'm finished and see the pages and pages of words I've created. Oh, and shows and movies too! Netflix is my best friend when I feel like being a little lazy or just feel like binge watching something new.

 

[redpanda]

I mentioned in another thread but I guess I'll repeat it here, haha. I play slow-paced video games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon since being able to go at my own pace relaxes me. Other video games stress me out because you almost always seem to be under pressure. I read a lot too, it makes me feel like I've been going outside to explore different places even though, in reality, I've been stuck at home for days because of my anxiety and depression. It also gives me something to connect to other people with. Usually I'm very shy but I get enthusiastic about books and I can overcome my social anxiety if I'm talking about stuff I like.
Watching anime and reading manga are also other hobbies of mine!

Are you enjoying Pokemon GO? I've heard that it's been helping a lot of people with anxiety and depression. It's getting people to leave their homes, talk to new people, etc. I've been playing, it's pretty fun! It's free so I'd check it out if you have a phone that can run it (iOS or Android).

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

My hobbies or I will call my passions in life are reading, writing, cooking and baking. When I am stress out and feeling depress I will just do this kind of activities and this will already cheer me up because I am interested with this kind of activities and it always makes me feel relax and fine. What is important is that I love what I am doing and I feel satisfied and contented afterwards.